Golden milk seems to be the latest miracle drink in my social media feeds. I don’t care if it does magic or not (although I learned in an Ayurveda course many years ago that turmeric has indeed anti-inflammatory features), but I really like this delicious tasting and beautiful looking drink.

Preserved lemons are said to be absolute flavor bombs! Lately I saw tons of recipes using them – especially in extremely delicious sounding stews. So I finally decided to give it a try and to preserve some lemons myself :).

Scrape out two vanilla beans. Cook the vanilla caviar, sugar, honey, water and scraped vanilla beans for 20 minutes. Cool down and add the brandy. Filter through a clean dish towel. Fill liqueur into bottles, add one whole vanilla bean into each bottle.

Can be stored for up to four months.

Enjoy!

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Every year when I am at the Frankfurt Book Fair I bring home a lot of new book wishes – and most of them are always cookbooks. Here are some of my favorites I found this year. Lucky me, X-Mas is not too soon now ;).

The last days offered typical fall weather: storm and rain, but also some sunny hours. What could be better than arriving home at such days and enjoying a thick, tasty and warm soup? For me, this golden corn soup is pure comfort food love.

Place corn cobs into a large pot and fill the bottom with water. Place a steamer basket in the pot. Add the corn and cover the pot with a lid. Bring the water to a boil, then simmer it for 8 to 10 minutes.

Use a pair of tongs to take the corn out of the pot, and transfer it to a cutting board.

Chop one of the potatoes in half and carefully place into the same pot of boiling water you used to cook the corn. Allow potato to cook until soft, about 10 to 15 minutes.

While the potato is cooking, roast the rest of the vegetables: Heat the coconut oil in a large pot, than add the other diced potato, the onion, garlic, carrots, celery, bell pepper, sea salt, Cajun seasoning, paprika and cumin. Roast for app. 10 minutes.

Use a knife to remove the corn kernels from the corn cobs. Blend half of the kernels, along with the cooked potato, the coconut milk and the vegetable stock until completely smooth.

Add the remaining corn kernels to the pot with the roasted vegetables, and pour the blended corn/potato mixture into the pot. Bring to a gentle boil and cook until potato has softened, about 10 to 20 minutes.

Remove from heat and season to taste.

Enjoy!

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Today I would like to present you two current cookbook favs of mine: a modern way to eat and a modern way to cook. Both are written by Anna Jones – a cook, stylist and writer. The books are a wonderful collection of vegetarian recipes that are not quite ordinary but easy to prepare and totally convenient for everyday.

Plus, every recipe is accompanied by a little story told by Anna Jones: Why and how she did create the recipe in the first place, at which season it should be served or she gives some clever tips regarding the preparation. I have the German versions of the cookbooks – simply because those books are printed on apple paper (yes, that’s indeed paper made from apples). I just think that’s wonderful – not only because it’s sustainable, but also because it looks and feels really beautiful.

Two weeks ago, Anna Jones announced her third cookbook – its name will be The Modern Cook’s Year and it will be released (in English) on October 5, 2017. Yeah :)!

Enjoy your week!

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This dish tastes like made in an Indian restaurant (at least in my world). I made it already several times – especially for guests. It’s easy to prepare (but takes some time) and always gets lots of praise :). You can make it either with paneer (an Indian fresh cheese that’s available in good-sorted Asian stores or you prepare your own home-made cheese), or alternatively use tofu, which tastes nearly as good as paneer in this Tikka Masala.

Heat the coconut oil over medium-high heat in a big cast-iron pot. Fry the paneer (or the tofu) until it is golden-brown (2-3 minutes on each side). Remove to a paper-towel-lined plate to drain. Discard the oil.

Heat the olive oil in the same pot. Add the smashed garlic, the minced onion, the tomato paste, the cardamom and pepper flakes. Roast, stirring often, until the tomato paste has darkened and the onion has softened (about 5 minutes). Add the rest of the spices (ginger, turmeric, garam masala, coriander and cumin) to the pot and roast, stirring constantly, until the bottom of the pot begins to brown (about 4 minutes).

Add the tomatoes with their juices, crushing the tomatoes with your hands while you add them. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer, stirring frequently and scraping up any brown bits. Cook until sauce thickens (about 8 minutes).

Add in the heavy cream, the paneer and the peas. Season to taste with salt. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened (15-20 minutes). Serve with rice.

Enjoy!

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For the sauce mix the whole tube of tomato paste with the heavy cream, the olive oil and one smashed garlic clove. Season with pepper, salt, herbes de provence and dried oregano.

Roast the vegetables in some olive oil until tender.

In a big casserole combine cooked pasta, 125 g grated cheese, the corn, the roasted vegetables, the tomato halves and the sauce. Top with the rest of the grated cheese. Bake at 180°C for app. 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

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